Steamboat Ski Patrol responded to an in-bounds avalanche in the resort’s “Christmas Tree Bowl” on Saturday. The slide was triggered by a skier who ducked a rope to ski in closed terrain. In response, Steamboat issued a statement on Facebook, calling the incident “troubling.”
“Closed trails are closed for a reason,” the resort’s Facebook statement reads. “When skiers and riders duck ropes they not only put themselves at risk, they also put other skiers and riders and patrol at risk.”
The skier who caused the avalanche in Christmas Tree Bowl self-reported the slide. Patrollers responded to the incident and used significant resources to ensure that no one had been buried or injured by the avalanche. According to the resort, that meant there were fewer patrollers available for guests in need elsewhere on the mountain.
Steamboat and its patrollers encouraged guests to follow the rules or face the consequences.
“Patrol takes these infractions very seriously, and skiers or riders who duck ropes to play in closed terrain can/will lose their pass,” the resort wrote. “Respect all closures, and let’s have a safe season.”
CO Avalanche Season Is Underway
As snow builds up across the Rocky Mountains, so does the risk of avalanches — both in the backcountry and inbounds at areas like Steamboat. In late November, another inbounds avalanche at Steamboat took the resort by surprise. A ski patroller and avalanche team leader for the resort wrote to Instagram, calling it “the largest slab avalanche we have seen in Steamboat in almost two decades.”
Other avalanches have already been reported across the Colorado Rockies. The same day as the inbounds avalanche at Steamboat, slides near Vail, Aspen, and Silverthorne were reported to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC). Other slides have been reported elsewhere in the subsequent days.
According to a news release from CAIC, the combination of heavy snow and strong winds in the mountains has overloaded a very weak snowpack, making it easy to trigger avalanches.
As a result, CAIC has issued avalanche warnings for the Park Range, Elkhead Mountains, 10 Mile Range, Front Range, Gore Range, Elk Range, Sawatch Range, West Elk Mountains, Ragged Wilderness, Ruby Range, and the mountains around Loveland and Berthoud Passes. All of those zones are currently rated as “High” avalanche risk based on the North American Avalanche Danger Scale.
With more snow forecasted, avalanche danger is expected to continue rising across Colorado. Resorts do their best to mitigate that danger inbounds, but, as this recent avalanche at Steamboat demonstrates, accidents can happen — especially if people venture into closed terrain.
For the most up-to-date information and forecasts about Colorado’s avalanche danger, visit the CAIC website.
